The country of more than 270 million people is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin
Jakarta;
A 5.6-magnitude earthquake killed more than 50 people and wounded hundreds in Indonesia’s West Java province on Monday, with rescuers trying to reach survivors trapped under the rubble as aftershocks hit.
West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil confirmed 56 deaths from the quake, whose epicentre was the town of Cianjur, about 75 km (45 miles) southeast of the capital, Jakarta.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 5.6 quake was centered in the Cianjur region in West Java province at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).
The national disaster agency (BNPB), whose data lagged behind local officials on the ground on Monday, told a news conference up to 700 people had been injured and more than 300 homes damaged or destroyed.Electricity was down in the area and disrupting communications efforts, Herman Suherman, a government official from Cianjur, said, adding that people in the area of Cugenang were unable to be evacuated because of a landslide blocking access.
Footage from news channel Metro TV showed what appeared to be hundreds of victims being treated in one hospital parking lot and some buildings in Cianjur reduced almost entirely to rubble as worried residents huddled outside.
Other TV channels showed victims hooked up to intravenous drips and being treated on the sidewalk.Officials were still working to determine the full extent of the damage caused by Monday’s quake, which struck on land in Cianjur at a depth of 10 km, according to the weather and geophysics agency (BMKG).
Muchlis, who was in Cianjur when the quake hit, said he felt “a huge tremor” and the walls and ceiling of his office building were damaged.
“I was very shocked. I worried there would be another quake,” Muchlis told Metro TV, adding that people ran out of their houses, some fainting and vomiting in response.
The quake was felt strongly in the greater Jakarta area. High rises in the capital swayed and some were evacuated.
The quake felt so strong. My colleagues and I decided to get out of our office on the ninth floor using the emergency stairs, said Vidi Primadhania, an employee in South Jakarta.
Earthquakes occur frequently across the sprawling archipelago nation, but it is uncommon for them to be felt in Jakarta.
The country of more than 270 million people is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
In February, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 25 people and injured more than 460 in West Sumatra province. In January 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed more than 100 people and injured nearly 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.
A powerful Indian Ocean quake and tsunami in 2004 killed nearly 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia.
Agencies